Give and Take
by MoonlightGardenias
Summary: "I'm always gonna come back, you know."/ Jate, off island.


**Author's Note: **So, first thing y'all should know is that this fic probably would not exist without the fabulous ladies over at . Admittedly, I've had an idea like this in my head for a while now but a contest/Jate love fest over there prompted me to get in gear.

Secondly, there may or may not be another part of this. I haven't decided yet, mostly because my original idea was a bit more PPJ than this so...yeah.

Reviews are like candy. Or guavas. They're better for you anyway.

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><p>It started out with small things. Forgetting to turn the lights off before leaving the room. Leaving dirty dishes in the sink. Little things that, separately, didn't amount to much but when put together offered a significant source of frustration.<p>

Bigger things only piled onto said frustration. Jack had a surgery on a night she'd planned a special dinner for them. It was something she'd been planning for the past week, had even researched recipes and practiced them several times when he wasn't home until she got it exactly right. Normally, whenever an unexpected surgery arose he would call Kate and tell her he'd be home late. But this time he didn't.

She waited. Rearranged the table several times. Changed the batteries in the baby monitor just in case Aaron had a problem. Perched at the kitchen island, watching as the candle she lit slowly melted away.

After several unanswered calls, she realized what had most likely happened and wrapped up the food, blowing out the candle before heading up to bed. She shouldn't confront him, should she? It wasn't as if this sort of thing hadn't happened before. He was an important doctor at the hospital so he'd been forced to stay before. But still, Jack usually made it a point to call and check up on Aaron, letting them know he'd be home late.

She was almost asleep when he slipped in. Remaining still as she heard Jack slip his shoes off, she closed her eyes and pictured everything else, knowing his nightly routine by memory. Kate bit her lip, fighting back the urge to question him. They were in a relationship and people in relationships were supposed to trust each other, weren't they?

"I know you're awake."

Kate's eyes bolted open, hesitating before turning to face him. Surprisingly, he was still dressed, having removed his jacket and rolled up the sleeves of his white dress shirt, undoing a few of the top buttons. "You're home."

There was nothing accusatory in her eyes and yet he could practically hear it in her voice. "I know I should have called, but-"

"Yes, you should have. But don't worry about it. We'll talk tomorrow." Kate replied, closing her eyes and reaching an arm in his direction. "Come to bed, Jack."

Jack sat on the edge of the mattress, picking her hand up and lacing their fingers together. "I can't just go to sleep knowing you're mad at me, Kate."

She sighed and forced herself into a sitting position. She should've known better than to expect Jack to just let it go. "We really gonna talk about this now?"

With her hair mussed up, face scrubbed clean of any make up, she still could not have looked more beautiful while sitting there in the muted light. And yet there was something in her eyes that he could barely make out. Something he'd had a feeling was coming and yet had been keeping at bay for weeks.

They didn't yell. Kate was too concerned about waking up Aaron for that, but it didn't stop them from hashing out everything that had been happening, from the smallest thing like her not taking care of something he asked her to to him not calling to let her know he'd be late. They talked for a while, neither willing to let the situation go.

It ended in Jack picking up his jacket, telling her he was going for a drive, leaving her with nothing to do but stare at the vacant doorway. She waited to hear him leave before padding down the hall, cracking Aaron's door open to watch him sleep.

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><p>She sat down in the rocking chair next to his bed, pulling her legs up and wrapping her arms around her knees. They'd been through so much together, had survived a plane crash and the subsequent aftermath for crying out loud. To think that this could be the end just seemed incomprehensible.<p>

Aaron stirred in bed, hugging the stuffed bear Jack had bought for him. Kate felt her chest tighten a little. They didn't yell, but in a way that made what happened hurt just a little bit more.

Kate woke up the next morning to little hands tapping her face. She opened her eyes, stretching her limbs out before picking Aaron up and placing him on her lap. "Good morning, little one. Did you sleep well?"

Aaron fixed his gaze on her face, almost like he was trying to figure something out.

She laughed and ruffled his hair with one hand. "Me neither. Come on, let's get you some breakfast."

She set him on the floor, grabbing his hand as she helped him walk down the hallway, finding it a little overwhelming just thinking how much he'd grown up in the time they'd been back from the island.

When they got to the kitchen door she heard movement. Puzzled, Kate cracked it open and was a bit surprised by what she found. There at the stove, Jack stood with his back turned as he made breakfast. His hair was disheveled and his clothes were the same he wore the night before, but he was himself just the same.

"You're…making breakfast?"

Jack turned his head, startled as he saw her standing in the doorway. He'd been so caught up in slicing tomatoes for the omelet he was making he didn't hear her behind him. "Yeah. I'm making an omelet. You want some?"

Kate opened her mouth a few times in the hopes the right words would come tumbling out but after a few times she failed. "Sure," she replied with the slightest hint of a smile. Turning away, she focused her attention on putting Aaron in his high chair and getting his breakfast ready. Just as she was about to reach for a cup for coffee she was met by a steaming mug being held in her direction.

"I made it the way you like it." Jack offered as an explanation. He adjusted his sleeves before leaning back against the counter. "I know that it doesn't entirely make up for last night but I'm hoping it helps. Look, Kate, I-"

"You're here." She interrupted, blinking several times as she wrapped her slender fingers around the cup. "I mean, of course you are. But it wasn't exactly what I expected."

He eyed her suspiciously. "You…didn't think I was coming back? Kate, we had a fight. That's okay. It's normal, even. But you know what? We're okay. We are okay, aren't we?"

They'd survived horrible, indescribable things while living on the island. To think that those things would have happened and yet they'd be torn apart by this seemed incomprehensible.

Kate raised her mug to her lips, her green eyes shining in confirmation. "Yeah, Jack. We're okay."

He let out a laugh before shaking his head. Despite their time spent together he sometimes found her hard to read. "But see, the thing is, we used to be better than okay. Didn't we?"

She gulped, using the temporary pause to group her thoughts. "Of course we were. We _are_ better than just okay, Jack, but that doesn't change the fact that you left."

"What was I supposed to do, Kate? Look, I don't know what's happening here, okay? I know that it's partially my fault. I should have called. I should have-" Jack paused, lifting a hand to his face, cradling his head as he rocked back on his heels. From across the room he could hear Aaron murmuring animatedly to himself as he ate cheerios from his high chair. For a moment it was like everything was normal again and they weren't on the edge of falling apart. "I should have done a lot of things."

"You shouldn't have left." Kate replied, leaving zero room for argument. She crossed her arms before taking a few backward steps away from him. There was something in the way her voice wavered that made him look twice. She pulled her bottom lip between her teeth, unwilling to let him see her fall apart.

"Wait, Kate…" Jack shook his head, the slightest hint of a smile gracing his lips. "I…you really didn't think I was coming back, did you?"

She turned her head, using the avoidance technique to check on Aaron. "What was I supposed to think, Jack? You took some of your things and then you just…left."

Jack opened his mouth to speak only to close it again. The idea that she felt he could leave so easily did not settle easily on him. Part of him just wanted to carefully explain exactly the way he felt about her and the other part…well…

She gasped at the nearly predatory look in his eyes. She knew that look. Without further warning, he crossed the room, hands clasping the sides of her face before kissing her deeply.

He pulled her bottom lip between his, tongue slowly grazing over it before darting it into her mouth, slowly but with a clear sense of urgency. His hands wound into her hair, pulling her closer, wanting so badly to convey to her the fact he was there to stay.

Moaning, in that moment Kate wanted nothing more than the feel of him as he pressed her against the kitchen counter. His stubble offered a stark reminder as his mouth traveled down to her neck, sucking and nibbling at her skin, which only served to drive her closer to the edge. Her hands gripped his shirt tight as he found a spot he knew she loved to be touched. "Jack…"

"I'm always gonna come back, you know." Jack muttered between kisses. "Always."

And then reality set in. Aaron, who had been content on munching on his cereal and sipping his juice suddenly realized he wasn't getting proper attention. He whimpered, waving an arm around only to knock his cup to the floor in the process.

Kate jumped, causing a knob from one of the drawers behind her to dig into her back. Wincing, she recovered by burying her head in Jack's shoulder, almost a bit embarrassed by how much they'd let themselves get carried away. "I should probably clean that up."

The kitchen was quiet for a few minutes as she grabbed a towel to clean up the mess. Jack cleaned Aaron's cup and filled it with more juice. He watched as she hovered, seemingly aware and yet oblivious at the same time to everything going on around her. "Kate," Jack spoke her name softly as she brushed past him. "I don't think we're done talking about this."

"Really?" Kate asked with a laugh. She gulped and tried ignoring the feeling she got when she felt his calloused thumb graze across her wrist. "I wasn't aware that what we were just doing qualified as _talking_."

There was a hint of frustration in her voice but it made him love her even more. He lifted her hand to his lips, pressing a kiss against her fingertips. "Okay, maybe you're right. I'll call Hurley. He's been bugging me about spending time with Aaron anyway. And then we can talk."

Kate nodded, still feeling wary of his intentions. "I mean it, Jack. _Talk_, not just-"

"I know," Jack assured her, planting a kiss on her forehead. He tucked a stray tendril of hair behind her ear. "I meant it by the way. I am in this, Kate. You and me."

She could have argued. Told him it was no excuse for the way he'd just stormed out. But that wasn't how they worked and she knew that, and besides that she knew well enough to realize he was telling the truth. "I know," Kate managed to choke out, surprised by a sudden rush of emotions. Sometimes she hated the effect he had on her. "I believe you."

"You do?" Jack asked, already knowing the answer.

Kate nodded in confirmation, smoothing her hands down his chest. "I do. Now, about that phone call…"


End file.
